JUNE 17, 2002

Minardi fans prove that they care

THE Minardi team's future hangs in the balance as Formula 1 bosses decide whether the team should be given the $12m in TV money which would have gone to Prost Grand Prix or whether the team will be allowed to go to the wall so that the other teams can keep the money for themselves.

Minardi fans all over the world have responded by making their thoughts known and the team reports that it has already received several donations from individual race fans and from corporations. The money involved is tiny but as one Minardi fan in Australia wrote "if every F1 fan in the world sent in a few dollars there would not be a problem with the budget."

Team boss Paul Stoddart says he has been touched by the donations which, he says, prove the passion which F1 fans have for the team - the perpetual F1 underdogs.